Modery sentencing delayed
WASHINGTON – The official sentencing hearing for convicted murderer Gregory Modery has been delayed until Friday, Dec. 13, three years after the kidnapping and murder of Ohio medical consultant Ira Swearingen. The hearing was originally scheduled for Nov. 1, but was delayed until today. Due to a death in the family of defense attorney Fred Rabner, the hearing had to be continued again, according to Judge Katherine Emery’s office.
Modery, 32, of McMurray was convicted in October of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit homicide, aggravated assault, kidnapping, robbery, and criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, kidnapping and robbery. The charges were related to the Dec. 12, 1999, disappearance of Swearingen, who was on his way to assist with a knee replacement surgery at Uniontown Hospital.
The jury in Modery’s case listened to some five weeks of testimony before reaching the verdict and deciding that Modery should be sentenced to life in prison, the same as his co-conspirator, Alexander Martos, who confessed to shooting and killing Swearingen.
The life sentence must still be formally imposed, and sentencing must also be imposed for the crimes other than first-degree murder. Rabner said he was surprised by the first-degree murder conviction and that he will consider appeals once the sentencing phase has been completed.